Caster glide



Jan. 18, 1955 M, KRAMCSAK, JR 2,699,567`

CASTER GLIDE Fi16d..DeG. 20, 1950 United States Patent C) CASTER GLIDE Michael Kramcsak, Jr., Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to The Bassick Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application December 20, 1950, Serial No. 201,777 1 claim. (Cl. 16-42) This invention relates to caster glides, 1ticularly to those applicable to tubular egs.

One of the objects is to provide an improved caster glide which is very readily applicable to an open-ended tubular leg, and which, after installation, will be securely held in place.

Another object is to provide an improved glide of the type in which the article is held in the leg by a fastener in the nature of an umbrella engaging the inner surface of the leg.

Another object is to provide an improved glide of the kind in which a cup-like metallicbase holding an interior cushioning element is employed.

A further object is to provide a glide having facility of removal under the proper conditions, for purposes of replacement, of the base portion ofthe glide, this removal being independent of the fastening structure which retains the upper part of the glide within the furniture leg.

Another object is to provide a glide having a number of important practical advantages, as will be hereinafter pointed out and as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a glide embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the position of the furniture leg in the completed assembly being indicated by dotted lines; and

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are views modified forms'.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the glide comprises a cup-like metallic base within which is insertedra rubber cushioning membe, through which 4cushioning member extends upwardly a screw extending at its upper end through a metallic spacer member generally of dome shape adapted to lie within the lower end of the furniture leg and having associated therewith adjacent the upper extremity a fastener or retainer which is generally in the form of a shallow umbrella. In a general way the structure has some similarity to that disclosed in my application Serial No. 92,053, filed May 7, 1949, now Patent No. 2,641,016, dated June 9, 1953, and so far as the umbrella-like fastener is concerned, the said fas* tener may be of the kind disclosed in that application.

In the drawing, the cup-shaped metallic base member is indicated at 10. The cushioning member of rubber or the like, which ist carried within said first member, is indicated at 11, the dome-like metallic member or shell acting as a spacer is indicated at 12, and the umbrellatype fastener having a peripheral portion which digs into the inner surface of the furniture leg for anchoring purposes is indicated at 13. In this embodiment the screw 14 has a threaded upper end portion which engages a nut 15 fixed within the dome-like member 12, which in this case is a hollow cupped member of sheet metal.

The metallic part 10 has an upwardly and inwardly curled rim portion 16 that extends over and conforms to a laterally enlarged portion 11a of the member 11, the upper edge of the rim 16 being in abutment with the lateral face of member 11 above the enlargement 11a. Placed upon the upper surface of the member 11, which upper surface is only slightly above the level of the rim 16, is a body 17 of rubber or like material. This rubber body 17 is softer and more resilient than the member 11, and the reason for this will appear at a later point.

and more parmetal furniture similar to Fig. 2, showing ICC The member 17 is of substantially the same diameter as the upper part of member 11, and at its upper part it serves to seat the foot portion of the dome-like shell 12, which foot portion comprises a horizontal outstanding flange 18 and a depending flange 19, which is integral with fiange 18. The flange 19 abuts the lateral face of the body 17, and this flange serves to center the body relatively to the shell 12, the flanges 18 and 19 providing a relatively shallow seat in which the upper lateral portion of the body 17 is received. The flange 18, as will be noted, underlies the edge of the tubular furniture leg when the parts are in the assembled position.

The upper end of the dome or shell 12 is perforated, and the perforated part is received and held in a groove 20 formed in the laterial face of the nut 15'. The retainer or fastener 13 is also perforated, and the perforated part of the retainer is placed in the groove 20 above the shell, and is locked in place against the shell in a suitable manner, as by bending or swaging the upper d 21 of the nut in a manner to clamp the parts 12, 13 securely in the retaining groove.

It will be noted that the retainer 13 is a relatively shallow member formed on an arc of greater radius than the upper part of the dome or shell 12, the result being that, while the members 12 and 13 are in contact with each other within the groove 20, the member 13 diverges from the member 12 in an outward direction. In this may the retainer is firmly supported adjacent its middle portion, but is free to increase or decrease in diameter. When the glide structure, illustrated in full lines in Fig. 2, is inserted into the end of the furniture leg, the umbrella retainer has its diameter decreased by the inserting pressure, and the projections at the edge of the umbrella bite into the furniture leg to hold the glide firmly in place.

In the structure here shown the nut 1S is a relatively short member extending downwardly into the shell 12 to a slight extent only and having a flat lower surface comparatively near to the ceiling of the shell 12. The nut is interiorly threaded and is adapted to engage the threaded shank portion 14a of the screw 14. Below the threaded portion 14av the shank of the screw is left plain, and the plain portion extends down to the screw head 22, which is a shallow round head received in a recess 23 provided in the cushion 11 and of substantially greater depth than the head 22. The screw 14 is rigidly fixed to the cushion body 11 in a suitable manner, as by being molded into said body,.with the head 22 in the upper part of the recess 23, whereby vibration imparted to the metal portion 10 will not be transmitted to the screw.

The body 17 of softer rubber is placed around the screw above the body 11 after the unit comprising the parts 10, 11 and 14 has been made. In this way a unit is made comprising the parts 10, 11, 14 and 17, which is one member of a two-part assembly, the other member being made up of the parts 12, 13 and 15. These two parts are interconnected by screwing the screw of the first part into the nut of the second part. This is a step which can be readily performed by the use of appropriate tools, through which usually one part is rotated while the other part is held stationary. If, for example, the part carrying the nut is held stationary, the base part can be rotated through the use of a suitable tool which grips it without in any way marring the surface. Being effectively gripped and then rotated, the base part of the assembly is screwed into the upper part to such an extent that a firm and tight connection is made. In this operation the screw 14 is strongly and rigidly held in the base part, and as the base part is screwed up the soft rubber body 17, being strongly compressed and being more resilient than the member 11, has a very effective action in inhibiting reverse rotation of the screw. The body 17, therefore, has an action somewhat similar to that of a lock washer.

When articles of this general class are used in school rooms and other institutional buildings, considerable diliculty and damage is brought about by unauthorized removal of the glides, This causes the furniture legs to damage the floors, and the repairing of the equipment causes loss and inconvenience. The hereindescribed structure overcomes this drawback because of the fact that the two units of the glide, being very strongly interconnected, the base portion cannot be unscrewed from the socket portion by persons like school children who are not provided with the necessary tools. Neither is it obvious from the appearance of the furniture in what manner the glide can be removed, i. e., by unscrewing. Moreover, as above noted, there is substantial economy in the use of the article because of the fact that the base part, which is the part most likely to be damaged, can be replaced as a subassemblyl The upper part of the assembly, comprising the nut and the members attached thereto, provides a socket member having means for locking it securely in position within the tubular member. When this part and the base part are interconnected in the manner just described, a unit is provided which can be readily assembled with the tubular member by a driving action, which will cause the upper fastening means to be effectively locked in the tubular member. When mounted in a tubular member such as a furniture leg, the assembly will be effectively maintained even under hard usage. On the other hand, should the lower or base part require replacement, this can be done by using a suitable tool that is applied to the base part to unscrew it. The socket member will be effectively held in position in the tubular member while this operation takes place. A replacement base unit can then be applied to the socket member, and it is obvious that there is a definite advantage in being able to replace a part of the glide rather than the whole of it.

The metal part of the base, being of rounded form and usually highly polished, cannot be effectively gripped without the use of a tool, and this also applies to the exposed cushion part, which has a smooth round surface.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, the socket part of the assembly is as above described. In this case, however, the cushion member, instead of being divided into sections, is made in a single section which extends above the metal cup 10 and enters the socket at the lower end of the member 12.

In the form shown in Fig. 4, the structure is as disclosed in Fig. 3, except that the separate nut piece is not used. In this case the shell r dome 24 has an open upwardly extended top portion 25 providing a neck. This neck has an external groove 26 in which the retainer 13 is clinched by bending over the upper end of the neck, The inner surface of the neck is interiorly threaded, as indicated at 27, and in this manner the neck portion of the shell is enabled to act as a nut.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the structure is as shown in Fig. 3, except for the fact that increased resistance to the unscrewing of the screw is provided by interposing a relatively soft rubber member 28 between the lower surface of the nut and the upper surface of the cushion. The member 28 may be in the shape of a round piece having a convexside surface, as shown. This member is of a diameter such that its side surface is closeto the inner surface of the shell, and in the assembled position the upper end portion of the member may make contact with the inner surface of the shell, as indicated at 29, this being due to the increase in diameter of the rubber member under the effect of compression.

While several different forms of the article are disclosed, it is to be understood that the invention can be embodied in many other forms, and that various changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I do not claim broadly herein an article comprising a socket member adapted to be mounted within the leg adjacent its open end comprising a spacer having a lower flange for underlying the leg, an umbrella-like retainer and a nut secured to the spacer and adapted to extend within the leg, a smooth round glide base underlying the flange on the spacer, and a screw rigid with the glide base and extending upwardly therefrom and adapted to be screwed into said nut, as claimed in my application Serial No. 201,776, filed December 20, 1950.

What I claim is:

In a device such as described,.a dome-shaped shell having at the foot portion a flange adapted to underlie the furniture leg, an umbrella-like retainer secured to the upper end portion of the shell, a glide base having a cupped metal part, a cushion member received within said part and extended upwardly therefrom and engaged with the flange of said shell, a screw fixed within the cushion member and having a threaded shank extending upwardly from said cushion member, and a nut provided at the upper end of said shell and spaced upwardly from said cushion member, said nut being a member extending through a perforation in the upper end of the shell and having a lower face spaced upwardly from the upper surface of said cushion member, said cushion member having a more resilient part in the region where it engages the shell flange so as to increase resistance to the unscrewing of the screw.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

